Luffy's Decision
by Tobias Bluesummers
Summary: Nojiko tries to explain more about Nami, but Luffy will hear nothing of it.Takes place during the Arlong arc. Please read and review.


**One Piece – Luffy's Decision**

_Note:_ I do not own, or claim to own, One Piece, Luffy, or any of the other characters.

"What?! You really don't want to hear this?!" Usopp's voice rang out loud, excited, and confused.

"Nope, I'll pass." His voice was calm and unconcerned as he continued to walk away from the group. Luffy had no desire to hear the story that Nojiko was going to tell. Even though she said she would explain everything about Nami. Luffy didn't need to know the story. He had already decided.

Luffy knew everything he had to know. He had made Nami his navigator. She was going to lead him to the Grand Line. Right now, she was just doing her own thing. Kinda like when she helped him with Buggy. She would come back and take him and the rest of the Straw Hat Crew to their dreams.

He continued walking as he heard the faint comments of Sanji, Zolo, and the rest. Thinking wasn't a strong point for Luffy, but as he walked his mind worked. Nami had taken the Merry Go, and had thrown Johnny and Yosaku overboard. She had done all this, but Luffy still believed that there was some other reason. She told him that she would take him to the Grand Line, and he believed it.

Soon Luffy realized that his wandering had taken him into the town of Cocoa Village. His mind came back to the present as he waked down the main road of the town. Movement down the road caught his attention. A large group of navy men were walking down the road. One man in particular caught Luffy's attention.

After the group had past by, Luffy stopped and turned to watch them head out of town down a side street.

"Why does that guy have a pinwheel on his head!!?" He muttered curiously to himself. Luffy continued to ponder this as he sought the shade of a nearby tree. He leaned back, his hands crossed behind his head as he looked up at the sky and continued to ponder the man and his pinwheel.

He seemed to ponder this event for quite the while. As he did people passed him by not paying much attention to the stranger. Other did give the newcomer some looks. Suddenly Luffy's thoughts were disturbed by the shouts of people.

Luffy looked in the direction that the group of navy had left. A small group of people had crowded around the side street. Luffy got up and headed over that way. As he looked through the crowd he spotted the man with the pinwheel on his hat, Nami, and Nojiko.

He made his way up to the crowd smiling, "Nami? What's going on? Can I help?" He said cheerily.

Nami's head turned up to look at Luffy. Her eyes red and puffy from both tears and the anger she felt. With her eyes burning with hate, she lunged at Luffy and grabbed the front of his shirt.

"You're still here!!? I want nothing to do with you!! Now, get off this island!!" She screamed in his face. Her bandaged hand hurting as she griped the front of his shirt tightly.

Luffy just stood there confused as she screamed. Then before he knew it she had thrown him, with all the force she could muster, to the dirt road before she ran from town. He watched her disappear over a hill as he got up and dusted himself off before moving back to his spot under the nearby tree. "What's her problem?" He thought as he watched the hill that Nami had just disappeared behind. In the distance he could make out some kind of tower, maybe another town.

"That's it!" The pinwheel man growled. "Get your weapons! We're going to fight!"

Luffy turned his attention back to the street where the man with the pinwheel was gathering the villagers together. He watched from the shade of his tree as the villagers began to gather up whatever weapons they could find. Many were wielding only makeshift pitchforks or spears, others were luckier with swords of various quality.

The man with the pinwheel continued to rally the townsfolk to fight. Luffy saw a look in the eyes of many villagers. They knew that they were walking off to a fight that they probably couldn't win, but because one man was asking them they would do it. This reminded him of another man whose crew would die for him. His thoughts were interrupted when he spotted Nami running back into town.

Luffy watched as Nami talked with the pinwheel man. She must have been trying to stop him and the townsfolk from going to fight this Arlong he had heard about. Suddenly the pinwheel man hugged Nami tightly as he spoke to her. But the hug seemed to be cut short as Nami broke away and pointed a small dagger at the crowd.

The pinwheel man looked at Nami before shaking his head. With one motion of his sword and a yell, Luffy watched as the crowd rushed past Nami. Soon she was left in the middle of the street still clutching her dagger as she turned and watched the crowd of villages run off to meet Arlong. She slumped to the ground in defeat. Luffy's eyes widened as Nami raised the dagger high above her head before driving the blade into her left shoulder, right where Luffy could make out some tattoo.

She repeated this several times as Luffy moved up behind her. As she raised her hand again, he grabbed it and held tight. Her head slowly turned so she could look at him. Her eyes filled and her face streaked with tears.

"Luffy" She started, her voice weak at first then getting stronger as she continued. "What are you doing?! You don't know anything!!" She shouted at him. Letting go of the dagger, her hands dropped and began digging through the sand, throwing it at his feet.

"Yeah." He replied calmly, watching her movements. "I don't know anything."

"This has nothing to do with you!! I told you!! Leave this island!!"

"Yeah, you told me."

She stopped, tired of everything and just sat there crying. "Luffy..." This time there was no angry. She looked back at him, and weakly asked, "Help..."

That was all he needed to hear. Without any hesitation Luffy reached up and took hold of his treasured straw hat and placed it down on her head. She looked up at him, confused as he leapt forward and stretched.

"Okay!!" He shouted. "Let's go."

"Right." Three voices replied in unison. The swordsman, chef, and marksman all fell in step with their captain. Each one with their own reason, but each knew that they had to and followed their captain.


End file.
